You have been summoned to the Grand Lodge by Venture-Captain Eliza Petulengro. But, don't expect to remain there long.
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The Lady Vanessa Reisende, late of Pangloi in Nidal, stands outside the opera house in Oparra reflecting for a moment on the events that brought her here. While the details of the mission are important, of course, she’s thinking more about her time on the ship with her new young friend, Spica. And of the fun they’ve had since arriving in Oparra. While the Lady’s outfit that she normally wears would likely suffice for such a plebian event, she’d not forgone the opportunity to take Spica and the others shopping.
Having consulted her friends in Absalom’s Petal District before departing, she’d secured the name of a top dress designer in Oparra - one Fera Wong, a Tien immigrant known for her high-fashion wedding and couture outfits. Thankfully, Fera had something that perfectly fit Vanessa’s voluptuous figure and highlighted her unusually pale dhampir skin amongst its black lace.
That part resolved, she’d put the chain shirt that she normally wore beneath her bespoke noble’s adventuring outfit into her unusually voluminous handbag along with her bandolier of potions. The red-tinted sunglasses she kept perched atop her head as an unusual accessory, to go along with the feathered earrings that were all the rage in Oparra this season. Her’s were, of course, red and black to tie the glasses, dress, and bright red lipstick together.
She retained her full-length black silk gloves that always cover her hands up to her elbows. Her long black hair tumbled in perfectly coiffed waves across the flawless alabaster skin of her shoulders.
”Vell zhen, dahlings,” she says while linking her arm to Spica’s and smiling at the young undine wizard. ”Zhis should be an interesting evening.”
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Indeed yes Spica smiled back at Vanessa. And, think of this. We're attending the Opera in Oparra
She grins at her attempt at wordplay. Spica was in her best sea green robes, cut to show off her figure but conservatively as not to show off too much skin. She had already done a lot of that on board the ship when there were opportunities to go overboard or when resting in a provided large barrel of water. The thing about undines is that they have to be immersed at least once a week, otherwise you have a rather unhappy and dehydrated undine. Her shoulder length blondish hair that has a hint of aquamarine in the right light, hangs loose, and her Desnian butterfly amulet, which doubles as an Amulet of Natural Armour, sits just above her cleavage. She also sports a large pair of tinted glasses (Eyes of the Eagle) that help reduce the daylight glare. Her cloak, a CoP+1, is night sky black with white dots on it and those in the know, realise it also doubles as a star map around the North Celestial Pole. If one looks closely, the dot representing Cynosure has a tiny butterfly in it.
Her footwear is practical walking boots. Spica hates heels, considering them an accident waiting to happen and an affront to the laws of physics. She also carries a shoulderbag, which is also a Handy Haversack, as well as wearing a belt with a few pouches on it. To top it off she wears a metal headband with a pearl mounted on the front, one way not to accidently lose a Pearl of Power.
I wonder what language this opera will be sung in? she muses. Still, I could always cast Comprehend Languages
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Spica was admiring Vanessa's dress until she heard the halfling speak. She was thinking that it could be adapted to make Vanessa look like a mermaid - a very attractive one.
Oh she says. Maybe you haven't seen the right ones. You really have to hear them in their original languages, such as dwarven for ones like Gotterdammerung or Dia Walkyri. So what do you like? Orchestral classical music perhaps?
And yes. I detest slavery as well. I'm Spica by the way and this is Vanessa
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Opera. A bald man in medium armor, with a sword on his back and a strange pistol on his belt, rubs his chin. His dark cloak on the clasp is decorated with two symbols - the holy symbol of Ragathiel and a Red Star, and his blackened mithril armor fits perfectly on his slim figure. A relic of imperialism. Spending money on the entertainment of the ruling class while the oppressed proletarians suffer from unbearable taxes and harsh working conditions. His accent is slightly reminiscent of Irissen, but still subtly different. He thinks for a while longer, then he looks at his new comrades. I'm Nikita Volkov. Gunslinger, paladin and commissar.
It was only a week ago, that you were all seated in the main hall of the Grand Lodge of Absalom, waiting for the arrival of Absalom’s newest venture captain, a tall, dark-haired and olive-skinned Varisian woman named Eliza Petulengro. Renowned for her composure under pressure and the author of more than two dozen Pathfinder Chronicles entries, she appeared in the hall suddenly, a stack of chronicles in her arms, and looked you over before speaking.
“My greatest pupil, Pathfinder Bodriggan Wuthers, has gone missing." The woman explains. "He followed a cleric contact back to Wuthers’s home city of Oppara to work on a massive dig beneath the House of the Immortal Son, Oppara’s famed opera house and once temple to the dead god, Aroden. That was a year ago. He sent monthly reports, hoping to see their publication in a chronicle, before all contact dried up a few months back. I’m worried something has gone wrong, and the Society has a vested interest in the artifact he was researching and seeking. We want you to travel to Oppara and find Wuthers. We’d like to know exactly what he was seeking, too, since he neglected to inform us through his monthly correspondence. He hinted only that the cleric of Irori he was working with told him the object was the world’s greatest ‘living’ artifact—whatever that means."
Eliza releases a nearly inaudible sigh. “I have a few tidbits of information to pass to you before you go: the House of the Immortal Son is nearly impossible to access. It took Wuthers months and countless bribes to get where he did. For you, I have a much simpler idea. Go to an opera, wait for an opportunity, and then exploit it to find Wuthers and his dig site."
“Be sure to wear something festive—the Taldan nobility are arrogant on their best days and if you arrive at the opera dressed like that,” she waves her hands at you all, though mostly at Derf, “they’ll surely lose your tickets or regret to inform you that the opera house is oversold."
“Go and report back to me directly upon your return to Absalom.” With these parting words of Eliza in mind, you had plenty of time to do some quick investigation about the missing Pathfinder and the opera hall and to make purchases. Though some of you may already have just the right attire for the occasion, one should not callously overlook an excuse to acquire, perhaps, just a few more accessories.
After a few years of training and following Venture-Captain Eliza Petulengro, Wuthers settled easily into his routine, traveling Avistan and Garund seeking greater glory for himself and the Society through treasure hunting. He quickly made a name for himself, battling through a host of demon-possessed apes in the Screaming Jungle at age 18 to recover the Garls Harp, an Azlanti musical instrument thought lost to time and memory. His tale of that find saw his first of many reports appear in the Pathfinder Chronicles and his fame as a Pathfinder was sewn into the fabric of the Society.
Oppara’s famed House of the Immortal Son is an opera house that was once a temple to Aroden. The House of the Immortal Son has, since the god's death, been Taldor’s most opulent and expensive opera house. It is a large, windowless, cylindrical building made of polished marble and granite and surrounded by thick, finely-carved pillars.
Built in the earliest traditional styles of Aroden temples, the opera house lacks windows (visitors are meant to look up, not out) and its roof is a complicated piece of stone statuary that replicates the holy symbol of Aroden, a steady winged eye gazing forever toward the heavens. The interior of the [i]House of the Immortal Son is full of expensive carpets, excessive gilding, and ridiculously large candelabras and chandeliers. Feel free to talk up the excess of wealth present and be sure to describe the level of opulence that went into the other attendee’s outfits, wigs, hair styles, and jewelry. Taldor is an empire in decline, but Oppara’s super rich aren’t aware of any decline here.
Though the House of the Immortal Son has a reputation for opulence and excess, it never turns away anyone with any obvious amount of money or fame. Pathfinders are a source of great discussion in Taldor and the nobility love to read of their exploits and adventures.
Although you have been allowed to attend the opera for free, any expected interactions with Taldan nobles are likely to be facilitated by appropriate dress.
Prior to your departure, you each received a missive.
Faction Handouts now posted on Slides.
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Spica can think of much better things to spend her gold on, such as the telescope she was saving up for, and new spells to be scribed into her spellbook but, after a bit of grumbling, she has to accept the situation of dressing up.
After enlisting the aid of her more knowledgeable and more fashion aware friend, i.e. Vanessa, Spica purchases a courtier's outfit (30gp) and 50gp worth of decorations. It is obvious Spica is not a dedicated follower of fashion.
I should just cast Alter Self and dress up that way she complains, grouching But I suppose some plonker will detect it and call me out on it
She then purchases some new scrolls and goes through the ones she already has:
Purchase Scroll of Animate Rope (x2) (1st) - 50gp
Purchase Scroll of Planetarium (2nd) - 150gp
Purchase Scroll of Wall of Ice (4th) - 700sp
Purchase Scroll of Wall of Force (5th) - 1125gp
DC 16
DC 17
DC 19
All three spells are successfully copied into her spellbook.
Writing costs: 10(AR)+40(P)+160(WoI) = 210gp
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"Yes," the Lady purrs to her handsome new friend. "Zhis really shouldn't be too hard. He's most likely down in zhe basement, digging avhay, and forgot to send his reports. Plus, ve get to attend an opera, AND go shopping. Vhat could be better?" Her pale but strikingly beautiful face is split by a cheerful smile showing off perfect, white teeth framed in the brightest red lipstick.
Being the only "noble" amongst the party, she leads the way to the door, and breezily hands over the group's tickets with jus the right mix of haughtiness and appreciation towards the doorman.
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Spica grins at Vanessa I can think of a few things but it might not be wise to mention them at this time *wink*
Vanessa leans in to whisper breathily in Spica's ear, "Vell, ov course, dahling, I meant as part ov a Pathfinder mission. And in public, too." She gives the young woman a little blow of air on her ear just as she spots Derf stepping up behind them.
"Oh, look, Spica, von ov zhe cast," she says in mock surprise at the halfling in his costume. The costume she helped him with earlier in the day when the brawler refused to go shopping with her.
Being the only "noble" amongst the party, she leads the way to the door, and breezily hands over the group's tickets with jus the right mix of haughtiness and appreciation towards the doorman.
The Lady Venessa Reisende leads the party to the theater's Blue Entrance. Here, a gaudy, marbled hallway with finely carved pillars frames a white floor that lies is split by a dark blue carpet.
Blue Entrance indicated as "A" on Map now on Slides.
The usher nods to the noblewoman as he accepts the tickets from the Lady Vanessa Reisende. However, when he sees the remainder of the party follow, the usher holds out a hand in protest.
"This entrance is reserved," declares the usher, his voice being quite a better louder than necessary to be heard over the crowd. The words elicit a stream of whispers, muffled giggling, and pointing gestures among the patrons lined up behind the party, all dressed in lavish gowns and finery.
Northward and southward lie the entrances to the banquet hall and to the bar , where long, red carpets have been set out to indicate those entrances as admissible to wealthy non-nobles. The banquet hall is a vast, empty room, which is primarily used to entertain the king and his court. It is currently set to entertain the few royal court followers in attendance.
The bar, known to regulars as the Immortal Drunk, serves theatergoers before the opera, during intermission, and hosts after-parties for wealthy merchants or socialites who are not part of the nobility. With the show about to start, bar service has been suspended for the moment.
To the north, opposite the Violet Entrance, stands the Green Entrance where a rather plain, marbled hallway is filled with simple granite pillars. The floor is split by a bright green carpet, indicating that this entrance is reserved for commoners when they are allowed to attend.
All locations identified by letters are indicated on Map now on Slides.
Realizing that the ticketholders are Pathfinders, the usher directs the party to other entrances lying northward and southward around the circular building.
That is, until he spots the disguised Derf. Reaching a hand for Derf’s arm, the usher angrily whispers, "You, there. Dancer. Hold on.” The usher calls to Derf. “Don’t you and the lot of your troupe know that you aren’t supposed to be seen here. Certainly, not before the performance.” The usher motions to an underling , who he quietly and firmly directs. “Take this lost puppy to the Actor’s Door.”
The underling responds with a look of confusion.
“To the White Entrance.” The usher stresses through gritted teeth, beginning to raise his voice.
At the usher’s urging, the underling leads the disguised Derf to the opposite end of the theater to the White Entrance.
White Entrance identified as “F” on Map on Slides.
Within the entrance known as the Actor’s Door, lies a plain marbled hallway filled with simple granite pillars. The floor is split by a dirty white carpet, stained by a century’s worth of artistic foot traffic.
Inside, each of the outer entrances leads to a second set of doors, which lead to the opera house’s main room. Filled with classic church pews now covered in the finest silks and cushions, the main room of the opera house is what you’d expect from a temple turned-theater. An odd mixture of religious symbols and modern theater tropes cover the walls, ceilings, and finely-carved pillars.
At the front of the main room is a wooden stage, which is painted black and currently decorated to look like a jungle underworld, with fake plants, vines, and a backdrop of jungle scenery.
An orchestra pit separates the stage from the main opera house and a thick, red velvet curtain conceals the main doors to the backstage area.
Ushers circulate through the crowds of boorish nobles, garrulous merchants, and other garishly-dressed patrons in attendance, directing each to their seats. The tickets issued to the Pathfinders are for seats located opposite the wooden stage, located far in the back.
The seats corresponding to the party’s tickets are located in the green-dotted area now found on the Map on Slides.
A well-dressed usher stationed near the Blue Entrance offers to escort the Lady Vanessa Reisende to her seat while ushers near the red-carpeted entrances point and gesture for those who entered through the banquet or bar to quickly take their seats.
Still another usher glancing from inside the main room through the set of double doors near the base of the wooden stage, upon spying Derf standing on the white carpeted , frantically motions for the Pathfinder to head through the door to the south. Beyond the door, which is slightly ajar, stands a trio of performers, each in a brown costume festooned with bright pink, flowing silk scarves.
The tickets and billboards identify the title of tonight’s opera performance as, Among the Living. It’s an epic tale of a lone Ulfen warrior named Victory who sails to the ends of Golarion, crashes off the edge of the world, and finds himself in a gothic paradise where he falls in love with the undead queen of a jungle kingdom.
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The Lady takes Spica's arm in hers and moves past the usher. "Come, Dame Capella," she says loudly enough for the nobles to hear. "Nikita vill meet us inside. Ve don't vant to miss zhe prologue."
She nods to Nikita as if she were dismissing her bodyguard and confidently steps past the usher, undine "minor noble" in tow.
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A bald dwarf in shiny full plate stands next to you. He has a birthmark resembling a butterfly on his forehead.
"Well, it seems I have to wear something less protective than my armor," he says with a frown.
"But where are my manners?"
He bows and introduces himself.
"I'm sorry. Grunjar, humble cleric of Desna, at your service. May the Lady Luck bless our mission."
After the briefing, Grunjar asks Lady Vanessa for assistence with buying clothes.
"I'm completely lost, I've never been to Oppara or to the opera. What should I wear?"
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Spica tries to put on the right amount of 'you are so beneath me and I can squash you like the insect you are' attitude to the usher.
You are lucky I do not have 'Arch-Magus' as well as a title she says to the usher. Although, that is just a mere formality, isn't it m'lady. And indeed not .... that would be rude ... what is the word here? Gauche .. yes?
This is the Blue Entrance she whispers to Vanessa. She then discretely points out all the entrances.
She also knows about the Actor's Carpet.
She recognises the symbols of Arodon
and has heard of this particular opera before, not one of her favourites - certainly nothing like the famous dwarven operas.
The Lady takes Spica's arm in hers and moves past the usher. "Come, Dame Capella," she says loudly enough for the nobles to hear. "Nikita vill meet us inside. Ve don't vant to miss zhe prologue."
She nods to Nikita as if she were dismissing her bodyguard and confidently steps past the usher, undine "minor noble" in tow.
"Well, I never," whispers another noble as the usher tries to stop the two women, but promptly gives up as the two pass by him due the remaining patrons move forward to take their seats as the show threatens to begin and his concern that he would lose should an altercation begin.
Derf moves up to peek through the double doors, hoping not to attract attention as the opera bores on.
Derf spies the main room through the double doors where various nobles and patrons are quickly taking their seats in classic church pews now covered in the finest silks and cushions in the temple turned-theater. He spies the rest of the party taking their seats near the back of the main room, a location nearly opposite of his own.
An usher within the main room, noticing the double doors ajar, approaches to push them shut.
For their part, the few other performers in the nearby rooms adjacent to the hallway where Derf now stands, pay little attention to the disguised Pathfinder, as if lost in deep, anticipative thought or else reciting lines and upcoming movements.
As the house lights are dimmed and the orchestra in the pit begins to play. The few other performers once observed by Derf now exit towards the stage to take their places.
The stage curtains are pulled open to reveal a trio of the brown-costumed dancers festooned with bright pink, flowing silk scarves. As they begin to twirl and spin across the jungle set at the front of the stage, they are swiftly joined by another trio that enters the stage from the opposite wing.
The show has begun.
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"I don't see zhat halfling performer," Vanessa whispers to Spica referring to Derf. To ensure that she doesn't disturb the other patrons, she gets her full, sensuous lips as close to Spica's ear as she can, grazing the young woman's ear lobe in the darkness.
"I do hope he knows vhat he's doing back zhere," she muses as she turns back to the performance.
As yet another twirling dancer in a brown costume festooned with bright pink, flowing silk scarves spins across the jungle set at the front of the stage, the orchestra reaches a screeching crescendo that crashes the entire opera to a halt. The dancers stand quietly for a moment, breathing heavily and listening to the scattered applause across the obviously bored Taldan audience.
Suddenly, a sound like a thousand gongs shakes the entire building to its very foundation and the audience murmurs in a mixture of delight and fear. The actors and orchestra, however, flee the stage, disappearing behind the curtains.
You and the other patrons only have a few moments to react to the strange behavior on stage. For, moments after the gong, the doors leading into main room of the opera house crash open and a horde of undead floods in, immediately attacking those nobles too shocked to run.
While undead work their way throughout the crowd within the chamber, the Pathfinders are confronted by a mob of undead coming from the banquet hall and moving directly toward them to attack!
Among the undead is a large, rotting figure with prominent horns protruding from its head and carrying a massive axe .
Undead on Slide.
It is accompanied by another undead monstrous being , and four former humans . The tone of the rotting flesh of one of the undead appears to be more sickly than the others.
Picture of horde on Slides.
One of the undead pushes its way through the pack and attacks a Pathfinder!
The undead's fist harmlessly bounces off of the Pathfinder's armor.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round One Begins!
Undead (green)
Derf
Spica
Grunjar
Undead (blue)
Undead (purple)
Nikita
Undead (black)
Undead (yellow)
Lady Vanessa
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Bored practically to tears with the rather pedestrian performance, Vanessa begins toying with the fabric of Spica's new dress. The black silk gloves that she always(!) wears blunt the tactile sensations a bit, but she still likes the feel of the soft material, the motion of moving it against Spica's body, and the feel of the smooth skin beneath. She's just getting going in earnest when the undead horde arrives.
Annoyed at the temerity of these creatures to disrupt her fun, she singles out the big one with the Black axe.
"Leave zhat big vun to me, please," she cryptically requests of her colleagues.
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Spica had been really enjoying the attention until they were interrupted by the undead borde. With a battlecry cry worthy of Brunhilda she flings magic missiles at Purple while trying to figure out what it is.
Vanessa finds out that Spica's new robes are also made out of silk and ornate enough for later enchantment.
Spica had been really enjoying the attention until they were interrupted by the undead borde. With a battlecry cry worthy of Brunhilda she flings magic missiles at Purple while trying to figure out
Spica recognizes her target as a bugbear Zyphus zombie, which carries a unique disease attributed to the deity Zyphus, the malignant god of accidental death. Like most zombies, it has tough skin.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round One Cont'd
Undead (green)
Derf
Spica
Grunjar
Undead (blue)
Undead (purple) -13 HP
Nikita
Undead (black)
Undead (yellow)
Lady Vanessa
Two of the zombies shamble forward to attack Pathfinders.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round One Cont'd
Human Zyphus zombie (green)
Derf
Spica
Grunjar
Human zombie commoner(blue)
Bugbear Zyphus zombie (purple) -13 HP
Nikita -4 HP
Undead (black)
Human zombie commoner (red)
Human zombie commoner (yellow)
Lady Vanessa
Nikita deftly steps out from behind the bench into the corridor. In the name of Ragathiel and the People 's Commissariat , I sentence you to.. Further words cannot be made out because of the noise of the shot he makes from the hip.
The bugbear zombie reacts to the drawn weapon, striking.
It then reels from the divinely-powered shot, but manages to remain a standing threat even after a hole is blown within its undead chest.
The massive, horned undead rears its axe as two of the human zombies shamble forward .
The axe-wielding undead ] then fills the gap and swings its huge axe at one of the living.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round One Cont'd
Human Zyphus zombie (green)
Derf
Spica
Grunjar -8 HP
Human zombie commoner(blue)
Bugbear Zyphus zombie (purple) -36 HP
Nikita -32 HP
Undead (black)
Human zombie commoner (red)
Human zombie commoner (yellow)
Lady Vanessa
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Vanessa carefully steps away from both the cleric and the nearest zombie.
"Vell, Grunjar, zhat's fine. You do vhat you must. In zhe meantime, you!" she calls out to the minotaur in a voice of noble authority that few would dare disobey. "Stand over zhere," she commands it and waves towards the north of the red carpet.
"Hmmm. My new pet needs a name. How about 'Moo?' Yes, zhat vill do nicely."
Derf momentarily wraps up an undead.
The mindless, moldering minotaur marks the mistresses mandate and moseys.
The human Zyphus zombie tries to subdue the nearest Pathfinder.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round Two Begins!
Human Zyphus zombie (green)
Derf
Spica
Grunjar -8 HP
Human zombie commoner(blue)
Bugbear Zyphus zombie (purple) -36 HP
Nikita -32 HP
Minotaur Zombie (black)
Human zombie commoner (red)
Human zombie commoner (yellow)
Lady Vanessa
Derf tries to move through the Green Zombie.
Derf then readies for Grungar to draw a weapon and give him a flank on Green.
Using the opening by a zombie's attack, Derf dives and ducks past the undead.
Spica's volley downs the undead bugbear .
I have tried to resize the map and position PCs accordingly.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round Two Cont'd!
Human Zyphus zombie (green)
Derf
Spica
Grunjar -8 HP
Human zombie commoner (blue)
Bugbear Zyphus zombie (purple) -56 HP
Nikita -32 HP
Minotaur Zombie (black)
Human zombie commoner (red)
Human zombie commoner (yellow)
Lady Vanessa
Grunjar sighs and draws his silvered morningstar.
Derf's kick crumples an undead
Then his birthmark starts to glow until a silver light washes over everyone around him, causing burns and blisters on the zombies.
The burst of positive energy wracks undead flesh and bone!
One of the zombies retaliates with its fist.
DEAD MEN WALKING - Round Two Cont'd!
Human Zyphus zombie (green) -35 HP
Derf
Spica
Grunjar -13 HP
Human zombie commoner (blue) -10 HP
Nikita -32 HP
Minotaur Zombie (black)
Human zombie commoner (red) -10 HP
Human zombie commoner (yellow) -5 HP
Lady Vanessa